Fishing report: Much better weather for fishing

Fishing report: Much better weather for fishing

What a difference a week makes! Potomac River temperatures are into the 50s! A huge jump from last week when it was in the low 40s. Open thetacklebox.

Fish will be moving from deep winter spots, so fish shallower and a bit more aggressively. NBC Ch. 4 meteorologist "Weather Kim" Martucci says, “Showers and 60s with Wednesday bring mostly sunny skies and 75 degrees! Slipping into the mid 60s into the weekend with more showers on Thursday. Overnight lows in the 50s.”

While Silver Buddy lures will still produce on the shallower sides of the deep drops, moving lures will cover more water as fish venture away from deep water and react to lures. Using a medium heavy cranking rod, cast Lucky Craft LV 500 lipless cranks on 12-pound test GAMMA Edge fluorocarbon line. Slowly drag red and craw patterns along the bottom close to drops in 3-6 feet of water. In areas with clear water try Lucky Craft Pointer 78 suspending jerkbaits. Clown patterns on 10-pound Edge. Use a jerk and pause retrieve. Slight taps and pauses.

Slow rolling Mann's Classic spinnerbaits with willow/Colorado gold blades on 12-pound Edge is especially effective when the water is slightly stained and with cloud cover. Cast and allow the spinnerbait to hit bottom. Reel slowly; drag to stay in touch with the bottom.

At low tide during the warmer part of the day, look for wood cover in the same areas and crank Lucky Craft 1.5 cranks on 10-pound test Edge. Texas rig Mizmo tubes on 3/0 Mustad Mega Bite hooks and Punisher hair jigs are effective once emerging grass is found or in hard cover. Use 10-pound Edge line.

Capt. Steve Chaconas is a guide on the Potomac River. info@nationalbass.com

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